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ATLANTA (AP) — The charges against former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case seek to criminalize political speech and advocacy conduct that the First Amendment protects, his lawyers argued in a court filing challenging the indictment. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee plans to hear arguments on that filing and on two pretrial motions filed by former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer during a hearing set for Thursday. Lawyers for Shafer argue that he acted legally when he and other state Republicans signed a certificate asserting that Trump won the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors. McAfee is forging ahead with the case even as Trump and other defendants have said they plan to seek a ruling from the Georgia Court of Appeals to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis. The charges against him include impersonating a public officer, forgery, false statements and writings, and attempting to file false documents.

Persons: Donald Trump, Scott McAfee, David Shafer, Shafer, Trump, “, McAfee, Fani Willis, Willis, Nathan Wade, Democrat Joe Biden, Brad Raffensperger, ”, Prosecutors, Biden, Shafer “, ” Willis, Wade Organizations: ATLANTA, Georgia Republican, Republicans, Trump, Republican, Democrat, Georgia Republicans, Georgia House, Georgia, Electoral, Democratic, Prosecutors Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Raffensperger

The ruling was not related to a defense effort to disqualify Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., who is leading the case. Count 5 concerned a call that Mr. Trump made to David Ralston, who was then the speaker of the Georgia House. During that conversation Mr. Trump pressed Mr. Ralston to call a special legislative session to appoint new electors. Mr. Trump and his former personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, had faced the most charges, at 13 apiece. They include Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, and John Eastman, a legal architect of the plot to deploy fake electors in swing states that Mr. Trump lost.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Scott McAfee, Fani, Willis, “, importuned, Brad Raffensperger, ”, McAfee, Steven H, Count, Raffensperger, Joseph R, Biden, David Ralston, Ralston, Rudolph W, Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Ray Smith III, Robert Cheeley, Anthony Michael Kreis, Kreis, Donald Trump, ” Norman Eisen, Eisen, Smith’s, Don Samuel, Ray Smith, Brian Kemp of, Nathan Wade Organizations: Fulton Superior Court, Prosecutors, Count, Trump, White House, Georgia State University, Act . Defense, Gov, Republican Locations: Atlanta, Georgia, Fulton, Fulton County ,, Brian Kemp of Georgia

☆ Election Deniers Seek to Rewrite the Law
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Nick Corasaniti | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the conspiracy-soaked aftermath of the 2020 election, far-right activists clamored to inspect ballots based on elaborate — and false — theories. In Georgia, election deniers pushed for a review that might detect counterfeit ballots because they were not folded, appeared to be marked by a machine or were printed on different card stock. In Arizona, auditors were on the hunt for bamboo fibers in ballots to prove that they had fraudulently came from Asia. National attention from voters and the mainstream news media eventually shifted to the 2024 election. (Similar bills regarding ballot scans have come out of committee in the New Hampshire and Arizona Legislatures.)

Persons: clamored Organizations: Arizona Legislatures Locations: Georgia, Arizona, Asia, New Hampshire

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would revive a new commission that some Democrats say is aimed at disrupting Fulton County District Fani Willis' prosecution of former President Donald Trump. “This has never been about the district attorney from Fulton County,” Robertson said on the Senate floor. However, the panel was unable to begin operating after the state Supreme Court in November refused to approve rules governing its conduct. Robertson's bill and a separate bill approved by the Georgia House of Representatives remove the requirement that the state Supreme Court approve the rules. The state Senate voted for the change 29-22, mostly along party lines.

Persons: —, Fani Willis, Donald Trump, Republican Randy Robertson, ” Robertson, Brian Kemp, Republican State Sen, Rick Williams, “, Sen, Elena Parent, Parent, Robertson, Willis, Colton Moore Organizations: ATLANTA, Republican, Commission, Georgia Gov, Georgia, House, Republicans, Republican State, “ Prosecutors, General Locations: Fulton County, Georgia, Atlanta, Chattahoochee

The House voted 95-75 along party lines for House Bill 881, sending it to the Senate for further debate. Monday's measure removes the requirement for Supreme Court approval. Trump on Thursday joined an effort by co-defendant Michael Roman to have Willis, Wade and their offices thrown off the case. Kemp has said he prefers that the prosecutor oversight panel and not the Senate committee probe any accusations of misconduct by Willis. But Democrats warn that removing the requirement for the Supreme Court to review rules could leave the commission itself without oversight.

Persons: Fani Willis ’, Donald Trump, Bill, Brian Kemp, Joseph Gullett, Willis, “, Donald J, Trump, ”, Sam Park, Nathan Wade, Michael Roman, Wade, Ashleigh Merchant, Roman, Martin Luther King Jr, Wade —, —, Kemp, Tanya Miller, aren’t, Houston Gaines Organizations: ATLANTA, —, The, Senate, Georgia Gov, Commission, Dallas Republican, Democratic, Lawrenceville Democrat, Atlanta Democrat, Republicans, Athens Republican Locations: — Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, Miami, San Francisco, Wade, Athens

☆ These are the House Republicans running for speaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Jack Forrest | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The high-stakes race for House speaker enters a new phase this week, with a slate of new candidates vying for the gavel following Rep. Jim Jordan’s exit from the race. The former National Republican Congressional Committee chairman was first elected to Congress in 2014 and became majority whip earlier this year. Bergman is a member of the House Armed Services Committee where he chairs the Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee. Scott, who represents Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Armed Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee. Johnson sits on the House Judiciary Committee, Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and on the House Armed Services Committee.

Persons: Jim Jordan’s, Kevin McCarthy, Tom Emmer Emmer, ” McCarthy, “ He’s, Tom, ”, ” Emmer, Donald Trump, Emmer, Kevin Hern The, Hern, McCarthy, Jack Bergman Bergman, –, Bergman, Austin Scott The, Austin Scott The Georgia Republican –, Scott, Byron Donalds The, ” Donalds, Francis Rooney, Donalds, Mike Johnson The, ” Johnson, Johnson, Pete Sessions, Colin Allred, Sessions, Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Ukraine –, Dan Meuser, Elise Stefanik, Meuser, Tom Corbett, Gary Palmer Palmer, Palmer, Steve Scalise Organizations: CNN, Republicans, GOP, Minnesota Republican, Press, Caucus, National Republican, Minnesota, Financial Services, Rep, Kevin Hern The Oklahoma Republican, Republican, Committee, McDonalds, Small Business, US Marines, Michigan’s, House Armed, Austin Scott The Georgia Republican, Jordan, California Republican, University of Georgia, Congressional, Intelligence, House Armed Services Committee, Agriculture, Byron Donalds The Florida Republican, Freedom Caucus, GOP Rep, Florida’s, Florida State University, Mike Johnson The Louisiana Republican, House Republican, House GOP, Federal Government, Pete Sessions Sessions, Texas, ”, Sessions, Trump, Pennsylvania Republican, Gov, Alabama’s, Energy, Commerce Locations: Michigan, Austin Scott The Georgia, Ohio, California, Georgia, Florida, Mike Johnson The Louisiana, House, Dallas, Waco , Texas, Ukraine, Pennsylvania, Alabama

Lynch said his agency is seeking congressional authorization to study another round of deepening for the Savannah River shipping channel. The Army Corps of Engineers last year finished deepening the waterway by 5 feet (1.5 meters), a $973 million project that took 25 years to study and execute. And it’s not just for the Georgia Ports Authority. Buddy Carter, a Republican whose district includes Savannah's port, said they support studying another harbor expansion. “This port affects every county in Georgia,” said Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican who attended the speech.

Persons: Griff Lynch, Lynch, We’ve, They're, Eugene Talmage, “, Sen, Raphael Warnock, Buddy Carter, ”, Jon Burns, Chris DeScherer, ” DeScherer Organizations: Georgia Ports Authority, Army Corps, Engineers, U.S ., Port, Georgia Department of Transportation, Army Corps of Engineers, Water Resources, Democrat, U.S . Rep, Republican, Southern Environmental Law, Wildlife Locations: SAVANNAH, Ga, Port, Savannah, U.S, Georgia, “ State, India, Thailand, Vietnam, U.S . East Coast, Panama, East Coast, Suez, Savannah's

☆ Loyalty to Donald Trump Has Led Rudy Giuliani to Being Indicted - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Andrew Kirtzman | David Holley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The picture he painted in the Georgia House was as vivid as it was dishonest. “This is going to be the election that will be the dirtiest election, the most crooked election, the most manipulated election in American history,” Mr. Giuliani said at a third December appearance in front of the Georgia legislature. “Georgia is going to be at the center of it because you have what I call the Zapruder film. After Georgia’s secretary of state’s office proved his most serious charges patently false, Mr. Giuliani’s accusations began to irk Trump campaign officials. He helped oversee the scheme in which false elector certificates were submitted in favor of Mr. Trump rather than Mr. Biden.

Persons: Giuliani, ” Mr, irk Trump, “, Biden, ”, Trump Organizations: Georgia House, White House, can’t, Elite Strike Force, Trump, Mr Locations: Georgia, “ Georgia

CNN —Former President Donald Trump on Monday was criminally charged for the fourth time this year in a sweeping Georgia indictment accusing him of being the head of a “criminal enterprise” to overturn the 2020 election. The indictment from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis included 18 defendants in addition to Trump, 41 charges in total and 30 unindicted co-conspirators. Willis’ indictment also went well beyond what transpired in Georgia as she used racketeering violations to charge a broad criminal conspiracy. Here are the takeaways from the Georgia indictment:Another indictment against the 2024 Republican front-runnerAfter the Georgia indictment, Trump is now facing four separate indictments at the same time that he’s running for president in 2024. Indictment highlights under-the-radar breach of Georgia voting systemsSeveral of former Trump’s co-defendants in the indictment are facing charges in connection with the breach of a voting system in rural Coffee County, Georgia, that took place after the 2020 election.

Persons: Donald Trump, Fani Willis, Jack Smith’s, Trump, Smith, Willis ’, Willis, CNN’s Sara Murray –, Joe Biden, Brad Raffensperger, Raffensperger, Georgia Racketeer, Feedback Coates, CNN Wills, “, unindicted, Ruby Freeman, Mike Pence, Meadows, Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani –, Trump’s, Raffensperger . Giuliani –, Sidney Powell, Misty Hampton, Cathy Latham, Scott Hall Organizations: CNN, Trump, Republican, Georgia, Prosecutors, White House, White, Meadows, Capitol, Georgia House, Senate, Fulton, GOP Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Georgia County, Monday’s, Pennsylvania , Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin , Arizona, Coffee County , Georgia, Coffee, Coffee County

☆ What is RICO, the law at the heart of Trump’s Georgia criminal case?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The state law – which is commonly referred to as RICO – is similar to the federal version of the statue that targets so-called criminal enterprises. RELATED: Former President Donald Trump’s fourth indictment, annotated“Federal RICO is a very big deal. Georgia RICO is a different animal. “The point is, it’s used very aggressively there.”For Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the law has been her calling card. Like the others, Giuliani is also charged under the Georgia RICO law.

Persons: Donald Trump, Donald Trump’s, it’s, ”, Kenneth White, Fani Willis, she’s, Young, ” Willis, “, Trump, Willis, Andrew Fleischman, Rudy Giuliani, Giuliani, ” Giuliani, CNN Willis, RICO Willis, Young Thug, Gang, Fulton Organizations: Washington CNN, Peach State, District of Columbia, Prosecutors, Trump, Georgia House, Senate, Southern, of, New York Times, CNN, CNN Willis ’, Atlanta Public School Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, Peach, Fulton County , Georgia, State of Georgia, Arizona , Michigan, Nevada , New Mexico , Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, District, Pennsylvania , Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin , Arizona, of New York, Washington

☆ Shaq tries to dismiss FTX lawsuit, saying he was inadequately served court papers because they were 'tossed' at his moving car
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

O'Neal was served last month after a three-month chase, according to tweets from a law firm. Shaquille O'Neal is trying to get his FTX lawsuit dismissed, saying the way he was served with papers was "inadequate." "Plaintiffs in the billion $ FTX class action case just served @SHAQ outside his house," The Moskowitz Law Firm tweeted on April 17. Representatives for Shaq and The Moskowitz Law Firm did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours. In November, investors filed a proposed class-action against several celebrities and public figures who endorsed Sam Bankman-Fried's failed FTX.

CNN —Lawyers representing David Shafer, the embattled chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, are arguing their client should not be charged with any crimes for his actions following the 2020 election because he was following advice provided by attorneys working for former President Donald Trump, according to a letter sent to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis last week. Willis has indicated she is seriously weighing bringing racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with Trump’s actions in the Peach State around the 2020 election. Willis had previously notified all 16 GOP fake electors in Georgia that they were targets in her investigation. Other Republicans who served as pro-Trump electors, including Shafer, could still face legal exposure in her investigation, according to people familiar with the matter. Investigators have at least three recordings of Trump pressuring Georgia officials, including a phone call that he made to the Georgia House speaker to push for a special legislative session to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state.

Trump has said he would stay in the race if he is indicted. Trump, meanwhile, is making a forward-looking pitch to voters, NBC News’ Allan Smith and Jonathan Allen report. And the Washington Post reports Friday that prosecutors investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot have obtained a report commissioned by Trump’s campaign that undercut his falsehoods about the election. Santos mulls re-election: New York GOP Rep. George Santos told the Associated Press he is a “maybe” on running for re-election. Sparks fly in the Windy city: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., endorsed Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson in Chicago’s mayoral race on Thursday.

☆ Grand jury in Georgia heard recording of Trump call to state House speaker -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Eric Beech | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The existence of such a recording, or that it was played for the 23-member special grand jury during the course of its eight-month investigation, has not been previously reported. Ralston and other state legislative leaders never called a special session, and the Georgia House speaker himself testified before the special Fulton County grand jury in July 2022, according to local media accounts. The George elections grand jury also is known to have examined a previously disclosed call Trump made on Jan. 2, 2021, to then-Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger falsely claiming that the November election results were fraudulent. That report, submitted to the Fulton County district attorney in January before the panel was dissolved, included who the grand jury recommended should be indicted. The special grand jury, unlike a regular grand jury, was not empowered to issue indictments, only recommendations, and the decision on whether to press charges ultimately rests with the district attorney, Fani Willis.

☆ Georgia special grand jury heard a recorded call in which Trump pressured the state's House Speaker to convene a session to overturn the 2020 vote: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Jurors heard a recording of the call during the grand jury proceedings, AJC reported. The Atlanta newspaper spoke with five of the 23 special grand jury members who took part in Georgia's probe of efforts to overturn the 2020 election by Trump and his allies. According to AJC, Ralston was among the ranks who denied Trump's request. The special grand jury completed its report in January and recommended multiple indictments. "It is not a short list," Emily Kohrs, the forewoman of the grand jury, told The New York Times.

☆ A Georgia House candidate who's repeated Trump's election lies has been accused of illegally voting 9 times
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Georgia Attorney General's office accused a GOP candidate of voting illegally, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Brian Pritchard voted in state elections while serving out a felony sentence related to theft and forgery, according to the report. Pritchard reportedly repeated Donald Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was "stolen." In 2008, he registered to vote in Georgia, and voted in 9 elections between 2008 and 2011, the Journal-Constitution reported. "I've not done anything wrong here," Pritchard told the Journal-Constitution, saying his voting rights were restored after his probation ended.

☆ Live Election Results: Georgia State Legislature
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Polls close in the state at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. All 56 of the seats in the Georgia State Senate are up for election, and Republicans currently control the chamber by a margin of 12 seats. The Georgia House and Senate are currently under Republican control are considered generally likely to remain as such, but it is still a competitive cycle. Polls close in the state at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Georgia House of Representatives election results:Georgia Senate election results:

☆ Georgia voters have their final say in the 2022 midterms, rejecting misinformation and the state of modern politics: 'There are just too many crazy people out there'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

While some pointed to their civic duty and a dislike of the GOP for voting, others cited trust. "We just can't have it where people can just spill out false information," an Atlanta-area voter told Insider. Another voter, Dani, who declined to giver her last name, decried the state of negative advertisement in modern politics. "There's no way that Herschel Walker should represent any city, state, country, you name it," he told Insider. At Druid Hills High School in suburban DeKalb County, Jim Perkins told Insider that there were "too many crazy people" in politics and he had to cast a ballot because of it.

☆ There have only been 2 Black elected governors in US history, but the 2022 midterm elections could usher in unparalleled change
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

There have only been two Black elected governors in US history, but that could change on Tuesday. With the victory, Wilder became the first Black elected governor in the United States, generations after P.B.S. He said people brag about him as the first Black governor elected in America. However, this year, Black gubernatorial candidates weren't overly reliant on the party leadership to help them land the nominations in their respective states. At the end of the day, if that's what I accomplished, that's not enough," Moore told Insider.

☆ Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams face off in the Georgia gubernatorial election, a rematch of their 2018 contest
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Republican Brian Kemp is seeking re-election to a second term as Georgia's governor. Stacey Abrams is seeking to oust Kemp from office in a rematch of their 2018 gubernatorial contest. Brian Kemp, who narrowly defeated Democrat and former Georgia House of Representatives Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in the 2018 gubernatorial race, is running for reelection in a rematch of that race. However, Kemp has also frustrated the most prominent Republican official in the country — former President Donald Trump. The former president credits his endorsement of Kemp as a turning point in boosting the now-governor in both the 2018 Republican primary and in that year's general election.

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